Early Spaying & Neutering

You may be aware of the many important benefits of spaying or neutering your pet, from helping to prevent unwanted litters to optimizing your beloved companion's long-term health. You may also have heard that it's wise to have these sterilization surgeries performed during your pet's first year of life. But did you know that it's even better to schedule the surgery as early in that first year as possible? Modern veterinary medicine now recommends spaying or neutering at around the age of 8 weeks -- which is why we offer early spay and neuter surgery here at Edmonton South Animal Hospital.

Spaying and neutering provides one very obvious benefit -- pet population control. There are limits to how many animals most pet owners can manage to care for, and without some way to prevent pregnancies; they may be inundated with puppies and kittens. Far too many of these animals' lives come to an end in shelters already stretched beyond capacity, making sterilization the humane choice. But your pet also receives numerous health benefits from the procedure, including a lower overall cancer risk (including zero risk of cancer in the reproductive organs that were removed) and lower levels of frustration and aggression (meaning that your pet is less likely to get into fights or wander into danger).

Early or pediatric spaying and neutering describes sexual sterilization performed while the animal is under the age of 6 months. Our clinic's accrediting organization, the American Animal Hospital Association, now recommends having your pet sterilized when he is as young as 8 weeks of age. Why start so early? It turns out that there are several compelling reasons, including:

Less stress - The younger the animal is at the time of sterilization, the less physiologically traumatic he is likely to find the entire process, from general anesthesia to post-operative recovery. Instead of being kept overnight for observation, for example, younger pets can typically go home the day of the surgery.

Fewer complications - Since the surgery itself proceeds more quickly and easily for pediatric patients, there are fewer opportunities for complications to occur.

More effective breast cancer protection - Early spaying is particularly important because if we can remove the female reproductive organs before the animal experiences her first heat cycle, we can prevent the hormonal changes that promote mammary gland tumor growth, thus lowering your pet's chances of breast cancer.

Less chance that you'll forget - Lumping sterilization surgery in with the other critical puppy and kitten care wellness procedures that occur around the 8-week mark helps to ensure that you don't forget to schedule it down the road.

Pediatric Spaying & Neutering at Edmonton South Animal Hospital

Now that you see the value of having your pet spayed or neutered as early as medically advisable, schedule this necessary appointment with our team at Edmonton South Animal Hospital. We want your new friend to get the best possible start in life!